The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology (S&T) directorate last Friday introduced its first strategic plan to help guide investments in artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to meet the needs of the department.

The plan “lays out an actionable path for S&T to advise and assist” DHS in obtaining “the game-changing promise of AI/ML technologies while mitigating the inherent risks,” Kathryn Coulter Mitchell, the acting under secretary for S&T, says in the introduction to the 24-page S&T Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Strategic Plan.

The plan sets forth three goals to aid S&T’s approach to AI/ML. The first is driving technologies that cut across homeland security capabilities and identifies three areas S&T will invest in: AI/ML, which include advance trustworthy AI; advance human/machine teaming; and leveraging AI/ML to secure cyber infrastructure.

The second goal is to identify mature AI/ML capabilities and match them to homeland security missions to help department components and stakeholders understand how technologies can help.

The final goal is to train the workforce within DHS and the larger homeland security enterprise to be more competent with AI/ML technology.

S&T said that there will be a follow-on AI/ML Implementation Plan to operationalize the strategic plan.

“For complex and rapidly evolving technologies such as AI/ML, building a robust portfolio of research and development activities and an interdisciplinary AI/ML-trained workforce in support of the DHS mission is essential,” the strategic plan concludes.